Archaeology Magazine - April 1975 - 63

Althougha certainamount of valuable
new information has been provided by
these excavations, this reviewer must
admit to serious reservationsabout the
need for such an expensivevehiclefor
communicating the results. The skyrocketingcostsof archaeologicalpublications(indeedthe costof booksin general),
both in this countryand abroad,are most
disturbing.Withall due respectto Noyes
Presswhich,though relativelynew to the
field of archaeology, has provided us
withan attractiveproduction,this volume
couldsurelyhave been producedlessexpensively.Since archaeologicalpublications of this kind are no longer within
the reach of most students and many
scholarsand in viewof rapidlyshrinking
librarybudgets, it is imperativethat the
archaeologist and the publisher work
closely together in exploring means
wherebythe costs of publicationcan be
reducedsubstantially.Sacrificeswillhave
to be made, but certainlythe quality of
an archaeological
report- itsvalueto constudents
and scholarsand to
temporary
succeedinggenerationsof workersin the
field- should lie in the accuracy and
completenessof reporting rather than in
the beautyof the final product.
T. W.Jacobsen
IndianaUniversity

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Ancient Greek Coins
by G. K. Jenkins. 310 pages, 20 color
plates, 92 black and white plates, 2 text
figures,1 map, bibliography,Barrie and
Jenkins, London 1972 (The World of
Numismatics;General Editor: Peter A.
Clayton) £7
In the past several years, interest in
Greek coinshas grownenormously.Two
results have been the realizationof unprecedented prices at auctions of fine
and rare specimensand the publication
of an increasingnumber of popular and
scholarlybooks,articles and catalogues.
Jenkins' AncientGreekCoinsis the best
of the recent publications aimed at a
general audience.
In an introductory section, the author explains in a lucid manner the
technicalaspectsof minting Greek coins
and reviewsthe methodologyof modern
numismaticresearch.He emphasizesthe
value of Greek coins both as historical
documentsand as individual miniature
worksof art. That the Greeksthemselves
appreciated coins as more than utilitarian objects is evident from the appearance of artists' signatureson piecesfrom
Sicilyand elsewhere.The use of Greek
coins for political purposes,such as the
commemorationof victories and alli-

ances or the establishmentof the divine
parentage of monarchs,is also well documented.
The main part of the bookis devoted
to a chronologicalsurveyof Greek coinage from its inception in Lydia in the
seventh century b.c. until the late Hellenisticperiod.This arrangementfollows
that adopted by Charles Seltman in his
now outdated Greek Coins, but differs
from the geographical organizationof
the recent Hirmer publications, Die
griechische Münze and Greek Coins,
with German text by Peter Franke and
English text by Colin Kraay. I prefer
the chronologicalapproach of Jenkins,
in which the coinageof the entire Greek
world during the Archaic,Classicaland
Hellenisticperiodsis discussedas a unit,
rather than the geographicalapproach,
in whicheach city or area of the ancient
Mediterranean is examined independently. In reading the historicalsection
of Jenkins' book one is impressedagain
and again by the clarity of the presentation and the author's command of the
bibliographyon Greeknumismatics.The
mostrecentstudiesare consistentlytaken
into considerationand where a controversyexists,as about the coinageof Hellenistic Athens, it is acknowledgedand
alternativeviewpointsare outlined.
I

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ARCMAEOLOC/Y
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ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY
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Brings little-reportedand foreign
discoveries;essayson the "kernel of
truth" in classicalmyths; new (and
sometimes controversial) theories;
highlightson ancient manners and
mores; those "astronaut gods"
debunked;photos; and much more.
All factual- and readable!Our 10th
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Archaeology Magazine - April 1975

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